By Gurminder Singh Samad | SamvadPatar.com
“The way celebrities were paraded through flood-hit Punjab, it almost seemed as if the state had sponsored their visits — not to serve the people, but to serve the image of the Chief Minister, who otherwise did very, very little on the ground.”
Introduction
In August–September 2025, Punjab faced one of its worst floods in decades. Over 1,900 villages were submerged, more than 3.8 lakh people were directly affected, 51 lives were lost, and crops across 4.4 lakh acres were destroyed. The state’s agrarian backbone suffered an estimated loss running into thousands of crores.
While farmers waited for boats, medicines, and food packets, Punjab’s flood-hit areas also witnessed a different kind of arrival — celebrities, film stars, and politicians. Their convoys, cameras, and entourages became as visible as the water itself. The intent behind these visits was often framed as “solidarity” or “raising awareness.” But in practice, many of these visits disrupted relief, diverted resources, and sometimes turned into little more than photo opportunities in the middle of a disaster zone.
This article examines Punjab’s floods of 2025 as a case study in celebrity disaster tourism — weighing the costs, the rare benefits, and the lessons for future crises.
The Flood in Numbers
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1,900+ villages affected across Punjab
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23 districts impacted, with Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Fazilka among the worst hit
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3.84 lakh people affected
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51 fatalities confirmed by mid-September 2025
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~4.42 lakh acres of farmland damaged
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40,169 hectares in Gurdaspur alone destroyed by waterlogging
(Source: Times of India, Mongabay India, AIR News, Government releases)
When Celebrities Arrive: Disruption Before Relief
Villagers in Rupnagar and Gurdaspur describe the same scene: instead of relief boats, first came police convoys clearing roads for VIP visits. Instead of uninterrupted food distribution, people were pushed aside as cameras crowded in to capture celebrities handing out token packets.
Key disruptions caused by celebrity visits:
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Diversion of security and manpower
Local police, already stretched thin, were diverted from rescue operations to manage crowd control, convoys, and media presence around celebrity visitors. -
Media spectacle
When Punjabi stars like Sonia Mann and Mankeerat Aulakh reached flood-hit areas with heavy convoys media attention spiked — but often shifted the focus away from the actual shortage of drinking water, medicines, and fodder for animals. The headlines became about “who came” rather than “what’s needed.” While celebrities treated Punjab’s flood tragedy as a backdrop for visibility, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann missed his fundamental duty to lead relief on the ground, not from press rooms. -
Unequal aid distribution
Villages visited by celebrities or politicians like Rahul Gandhi in Amritsar and Gurdaspur often received immediate relief and visibility, while equally devastated villages in Ferozepur or Fazilka remained neglected. This is the “celebrity disaster effect”: attention flows to where cameras go, not necessarily where the need is greatest. -
Logistical slowdowns
Relief workers reported that supplies were delayed by hours because trucks were stuck behind VIP convoys or stopped to wait for a “flag-off” photo op. In disasters, even minutes count. -
Disaster tourism optics
Critics argue that some celebrities treated flood visits as PR opportunities, with choreographed images of handing out food packets. To struggling farmers, this felt tone-deaf and self-serving.
Where Celebrities Did Help
Not all celebrity involvement was harmful. Some, in fact, helped significantly by staying away from ground zero and instead using their platforms:
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Diljit Dosanjh did not wade into villages with cameras. Instead, he mobilized his global Punjabi diaspora fan base on Instagram and X (Twitter), leading to large-scale donations to NGOs like Khalsa Aid.
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Sonu Sood, known for his relief work in earlier crises, amplified fundraising campaigns digitally rather than crowding frontline operations.
- In contrast, the Dasvandh Foundation, supported by Patiala Film Productions Amneet Sher Singh & Ravneet Sher Singh, their friends, and city mates, quietly set an example — delivering support in shape of rations, and real relief without cameras or slogans.
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Local Punjabi singers held online donation drives, reminding people that the best way to help is to send funds, not selfies.
These examples show that celebrity power works best behind the scenes — amplifying NGOs, fundraising, and keeping media attention alive — not in on-ground disruptions.
The Double-Edged Sword of Star Power
Benefits:
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Celebrities can raise massive awareness fast.
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Donations surge when famous faces appeal for funds.
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Their presence can lift the morale of victims.
Costs:
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Relief operations get interrupted.
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Aid gets skewed to “celebrity villages.”
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Media narratives shift to spectacle over substance.
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Victims feel like props in a PR show.
Lessons for the Future
Punjab’s floods highlight the urgent need to rethink celebrity disaster involvement:
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Stay out of rescue zones — Celebrities should not visit during the emergency phase. Their physical presence slows operations.
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Work with NGOs, not convoys — Fundraise and amplify credible relief groups instead of staging distribution events.
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Equitable spotlight — If they must visit, celebrities should highlight lesser-seen, remote villages rather than politically strategic ones.
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From awareness to accountability — Celebrities should push governments for transparent compensation, not just click photos in waterlogged lanes.
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Symbolism vs. substance — In floods, boats, medicines, and fodder matter more than camera crews and hashtags.
Conclusion
Punjab’s floods of 2025 exposed the state’s vulnerabilities — poor drainage, overflowing rivers, and a lack of long-term disaster planning. But they also revealed another problem: the flood of celebrities into disaster zones.
“Even as the floodwaters began to recede, the tragedy deepened: more dead bodies were recovered each passing day, pushing the death toll higher. Local sources confirmed that many families are still searching for their missing loved ones, but shockingly, officials have been pressuring survivors to remain silent instead of raising their voices about the missing — a cruel attempt to suppress the real scale of Punjab’s disaster.”
When convoys and cameras arrive before clean drinking water, it is not solidarity — it is spectacle. If stars truly wish to help, they must learn that disaster relief is not a stage for self-promotion.
As one farmer in Gurdaspur put it bluntly:
“We wanted boats, but what we got were photo ops.”
